NGO says it will adopt Ablekuma residents

Accra, (Greater Accra) 25 Jan. '99,

African Human Rights Heritage (AHRH), a non-governmental organisation, said on Friday that it will seek redress for residents of Ablekuma, a village in the Greater Accra Region, where, it said, Police destroyed houses while trying to arrest suspects, who allegedly murdered two Policemen. A statement signed by AHRH International Chairman, Mr Baffour Anning said the move was in line with the Protection and Redress Mechanisms now in operation under the United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Crime and Abuse of Power Victims.

It said under the offer the AHRH will seek compensation and/or reparation for the villagers and will rehabilitate the entire village under a pilot project, which will conform to the building and layout regulations of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA). AHRH will research into the root causes of land guards, the subject matter of the conflict and work out effective measures in the interest of human dignity". The AHRH urged the Police not to take the law into their own hands and the public should to exercise restraint in dealing with the Police. It appealed to the public to form human rights committees to enable them to report complaints at the community level for effective redress through community policing network.